Getting Out From Behind

Christmas wasn't what we had planned.  Instead of driving to Michigan, I returned Blitzen to his foster home after picking up Comet from a night at the vet where he was having pieces of Blitzen's tooth removed from his paw.  To add to the drama and expense, my car broke down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at 10:30 at night--even more frustrating because I'd had the annual inspection performed earlier that morning.  So, I had the car towed 150 miles back to the service station, where it turns out one of the bolts from the new brake calipers they'd installed had come loose.  They fixed it within 15 minutes, delivered the car to my house, and gave me a voucher for my next visit.

We've been taking it easy, trying to get caught up on everything we haven't been doing for the past month, like FINALLY making my Christmas cards.  I like the way they turned out, but I didn't know prior to choosing the design that I'd have to pay additional postage for the size/shape.  Ah, well, something to remember going forward...

Now I've got to get to work on projects for January and February workshops...

As One Door Closes...

We've had quite a month.  My female Siberian husky, Vixen, passed away the Sunday after Thanksgiving, likely from a broken heart.  Her older brother, Donner, passed away in June; she adored him and hadn't been the same since. 

So I decided to adopt Quesadilla (Quesi), my foster dog, and reunite him with his brother Vlad, who was being fostered by another family.  I've renamed them Comet and Blitzen, respectively.  Comet had pretty much adopted me already, but their reunion has been less than smooth.  They get along GREAT on walks, at mealtimes, and most of the day, but Blitzen gets wound up in the evening and starts an undirected growl, which Comet then lets him know is inappropriate and unappreciated.  And it escalates from there. 

We're supposed to travel to Michigan for Christmas weekend, but that's up in the air right now until I can sort out and manage their conflict.  I've got a minivan and an SUV reserved--trying to determine which would be better for transporting two dogs.  Of course, there's the option of leaving one or both at home, which is undesirable but may prove helpful--especially if I leave the new kid at the house with the dog walkers continuing the routine in my absence and theoretically eliminating any source of late evening agitation, possibly even helping Blitzen feel more secure in the house.  I've checked into airfares, but they've been ridiculous all along.  Or, we may just stay home and continue to work through the issue together.  I'm hoping we can work through it well enough to be able to all go together.  I've traveled relatively soon after new dogs have entered our family, without issue, but I've never had this level of conflict with two dogs, which is frustrating and surprising since the boys have previously lived together for about three years.  Ugh...

So crafting has been on hold--between grieving, getting ready for the holidays (not so interested in that based on everything going on), prepping for the new arrival, and then dealing with the conflict.  I've got ideas and materials for some workshops, but I'm so exhausted that I've not worked on them yet.  I should have time between the holidays to be creative.  Stay tuned...